where a man pulled a gun and took hostages in protest of his wife's firing. the question is, how did this turn out after the shots were fired? and raum emanuel running for mayor of chicago is grilled in a bizarre basement hearing by people who claim he's not even a resident of the city. the question is, how much of this could rahm take before he got a little feisty. it's way too early for this. . good morning. i'm willie geist. this is "way too early," the show that's also heckled by local residents as it is broadcast every morning from the basement in chicago. that's where we are now. i'm glad you're up with us watching on msnbc or listening live on sirius xm radio. shoot me an e-mail at waytooearly@msnbc.com and let me know why you're awake or do what ed does and text the word awake, followed by your response to 622639. we'll read the best responses later in the show. the next 30 minutes will be your

cram session for wednesday, december 15th. a lot going on include a bleak new intel report about our prose pengtss in afghanistan. plus, a bison riding shotgun in an old convertible. we'll offer some kind of explanation later. news at 5:30 at 30 rock in new york city. a school board meeting in florida turned deadly after a gunman who apparently said he was angry about his wife losing her job opened fire before eventually killing himself. the it terrifying scene was streamed live by school board cameras and captured by nbc affiliate wjhg. some of the footage you're going to see is a little graphic. the ordeal began shortly after the meeting was opened up for public comment. at that point the man identified as 56-year-old clay duke, took to the podium and spray painted a "v" on the wall. then pulled out a gun and ordered women and children out of the room. >> [ bleep ].

behind that counter. hit the road. leave! you may leave, you may leave. women can leave. six men stay. everyone else, leaves. moments later one of the woman snuck back in and tried to knock the gun out of duke's hand. >> still didn't have anything -- >> no. >> ginger, no. ginger. ginger. >> that woman was unhurt and managed to escape again. the gunman held six remaining board members hostage. during the standoff the school superintendent pressed duke about his wife's supposed firing and pleaded with him to release the other people still being held. at that point duke opened fire on the group from just ten feet away. >> if you're going to kill

yourself or kill us or whatever, at least let us know what's going on. i'll be very honest with you, i swear, i don't know who your wife is or what she did. i don't. i don't want to die like anybody else doesn't. i don't remember and i don't know who she is. but let them go. i'm the one that did it. i mean, they don't sign the papers. i'm the only one that signs them. will you let them go? i've got a feeling that what you want is the cops to come in and kill you because you're mad. you said you're going to die today. but why? if this -- this isn't worth it. this is a problem -- please don't. please don't. please. >> that looks terrible. miraculously none of the board members was killed or injured. duke was shot by a security guard and then turned the gun on himself. state records show he had an extensive criminal record and that served time for aggravated stalking. on facebook he reportedly posted

this -- some people, the government sponsored media, will say i was evil, a monster, no, i was just born poor in a country where the wealthy manipulate. one of hus apparent profile pictures is similar to the "v" he painted on the school board wall, a symbol like the one used in the 2006 film "v for vende a vendet vendetta. "police cannot confirm any links between duke's actions and the movie. the superintendent says the school system has no record of the gunman's wife ever getting fired or even of ever working there. incredible scene. back to the business of the country, on capitol hill, the senate is now expected to vote on president obama's tax package later this afternoon after postponing it yesterday. despite the delay the measure to extend all the bush tax cuts expected to sail through the chamber with strong support. the senate passage will send the bill to the house where in a two hour meeting last night, democrats discussed the plan to vote on an alternative to the estate tax provisions which many

oppose. they want to set the rate at 45% rather than the 35% demanded by republicans and agreed to by president obama. if any amendments were adopted in the house, the tax package would have to go back to the senate for further action. still after yesterday's meeting, democratic congressman elijah cummings said he was confident they will move forward with a vote on the tax package this week. >> right now it's a question of how much can be changed without ruining the president's efforts to get this thing through. i think everybody's kind of sensitive to that. i said it before, that i think that the package would pass because i really kind of believe that republicans love this package and so i think there will be a significant republican votes and i think that it will probably get quite a few democratic votes. not necessarily a majority. >> congressman elijah cummings. mitch mcconnell warned democrats

any changes in the house could derail the entire deal. >> this agreement is not subject to being reopened. in other words, we have an understanding. i think the senate is going to pass this measure ensuring that no one's taxes go up by very significant margin and i hope that our friends in the house will understand that that's the best way to go forward, simply pass the senate bill, get it down to a president who supports the understanding. >> meanwhile republican senator john thune, named as a possible 2012 presidential candidate, blasted the plan's critics. >> now, it's easy to stand on the sidelines and it to criticize this proposal and it it's, perhaps, even politically expedient to stand on the sidelines and criticize this proposal. but make -- but let me make one thing very clear, mr. president, advocating against this tax

proposal is to advocate for a tax increase. >> thune's comments came on the same day that potential 2012 republican frontrunner mitt romney called the tax plan a, quote, disappointing agreement that does not extend tax cuts for the wealthy for a long enough period. romney wrote that in a usa it "today" editorial. there is growing outrage after senate democrats unveiled a $1.1 trillion spending bill to finance the federal government, filling more than 1,900 pages the measure cuts $26 billion from president obama's budget requests. however republicans say they will oppose it for including hundreds of earmarks which many on capitol hill have promised to stop. among the flash points in the bill is the inclusion of about $450 million to continue a second alternative engine for the f-35 joint strike fighter. defense secretary robert gates has repeatedly said the engine is not a necessity and that president should veto any bill that includes money for that

defense project. yesterday, senator john mccain slammed members of congress for failing to get the message from the midterm elections. >> written without a hearing, written without scrutiny, written without the input of the majority of the members of this body, written by a handful of senators who happen to be members of the appropriations committee. and the american people said just 42 days ago, enough. are we tone deaf? are we stricken with amnesia? what is going on here? >> mccain's staff pointed to several examples of what they call unnecessary spending. among them $208,000 for beaver management in north carolina. $235,000 for toxic weed management in nevada. $413,000 for peanut research in alabama.

and $247,000 for virus-free wine grapes in washington state. you get the idea there. democratic majority leader harry reid defends the bill saying it's a better option than using a stop gap bill that passed the house last week. congress will try again to repeal the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. the one that prevents gays from serving openly in the military. house majority leader steny hoyer and pennsylvania congressman democrat patrick murphy are behind this legislation. hoyer told reporters yesterday that his chamber will take up the standalone bill to end the policy, adding, the discriminatory and harmful policy has weakened america's security by depriving us of the work of tens of thousands of gay and lesbian troops who have served their country honorably and severely compromised our armed forces core value of integrity. if repeal passes its future remains uncertain in the senate where earlier this month as you know democrats fell three votes

short when they tried to insert repeal of the policy into a larger defense bill. senate leaders say as soon as they finish the tax bill, they will take up a new nuclear arms treaty with russia, called start. officials said yesterday they secured the 67 votes needed for ratification. >> i think it's clear that if you look at the number of democrats and republicans that have said they're supportive of this treaty, that number is at or exceeds 67, and certainly that's crucial and important. that's the number we need and that's the number that we expect to exceed when this is passed. >> however, arizona senator jon kyl disagrees saying he will, quote, work very hard to discourage his fellow republicans from trying to ratify the treaty before the christmas break. >> it's hard it to say no, but at some point, you can no longer, with a straight face, i

think, carry the proposition that we are going to do this whole long list of things before the christmas recess. it's simply impossible it to have the time to do them right. >> kyl has been outspoken for some time. debate on the measure expected to start in the senate as soon as today. a report in "the new york times" this morning casts doubt on progress in the war in afghanistan. sources in the intelligence community are reportedly giving a bleak assessment arguing large swaths of the country remain at risk of falling to the taliban and neighboring pakistan is still supporting insurgents. this comes as the white house is planning to unveil a report tomorrow that president obama will address from the white house. press secretary robert gibbs says it will affirm the president's timetable to begin withdrawing some u.s. forces next july. >> i doubt there will be, in all honesty, a lot of surprise at

what the review lays out. there has been some important progress in halting the momentum of the taliban in afghanistan. we have seen through counter terrorism success at degrading senior al qaeda leaders. and we've seen greater cooperation over the course of the past 18 months with the pakistani government. >> ahead of tomorrow's release the president met for nearly two hours in the situation room yesterday with secretary of state hillary clinton, defense secretary robert gates, and other top military and national security advisers it to go over this review. the obama administration reportedly concludes also that north korea's new plant to enrich nuclear fuel uses technology that is, quote, significantly more advanced than that possessed by iran. that's according to intelligence officials. according to the "new york times," carefully worded comments american officials are arguing that the new plant could

not have been constructed so quickly unless there was a sophisticated network of other secret sites and perhaps a fully operating uranium enrichment plant elsewhere in the country. turns out north korea much farther along than we thought. wikileaks founder julian assange should know by tomorrow whether he will be freed on bail. for now, he remains in a london prison after swedish authorities seeking to prosecute him for alleged sex crimes appealed the decision yesterday to free him on about $317,000 bail. meanwhile, the air force is blocking its personnel from viewing "the new york times" website and other major publications that have published secret cables from wikileaks. officials insist censorship is not the goal with one spokesman saying the measure is intended to keep classified material off unclassified computer systems. still ahead on "way too early" -- a florida high school basketball player loses it and attacks a referee during a game.

everything okay down in florida this week, guys? let's take it down a notch. plus, a man who does not know the meaning of the phrase "take it down a notch" rahm emanual goes on the offensive answering questions that he shouldn't be allowed to run for mayor of chicago. that story and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back. this was me, best ribs in nelson county,

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it. 2:47 in the morning in las vegas where you don't worry about the weather but it is cold back here in new york where it's 5:47. a check of your weather from nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> even vegas occasionally you have to leave one casino and go to another one. >> rarely. you step into the car or cab.

if you're waiting for the cab those five minutes you're outside. >> vegas, no problems. five seconds waiting outside on the east coast once again, you're going to feel the chill. like yesterday morning in florida, temperatures are at 32 in orlando. this time yesterday we were at 28 to 29. it's about two degrees warmer in most areas of florida today. hopefully we're not doing any additional damage to the oranges and strawberry crops. 29 in melbourne and miami. the cold air still around. the windchills are worse this morning in new england. boston right now at 3 with some light snow this morning. probably a little coating out there. detroit at 2, chicago at 6. it's still very cold. we're going to have warmer air moving in and a mini ice storm in areas of tennessee. all the areas in white under winter weather advisories in portions of kentucky under winter storm warnings. that's a weak system that will affect you. rest of the country, starting to do a little slow warmup. 30s in new york, but look at dallas, 76. >> whoa.

>> that's the place to be. turn to sports. things getting complicated if your a minnesota vikings ticket holder. metrodome stadium officials are saying now that the roof, as you know by now, you can see in that picture collapseded on sunday and damaged in a massive snowstorm will not be repaired in time for monday night's game against the chicago bears. this is supposed to be a big night in minnesota marking the 50th anniversary of the vikings franchise and now it likely will be held here, at the university of minnesota's open air tcf bank stadium. crews now working around-the-clock to get that facility up and running for nfl. minnesota has not played a game professionally at home outdoors since 1981. here's why. according to weather reports, it's going to be 4 degrees at game time. dress warm, vikings fans. one bright spot the vikings decided not to put brett favre on injured reserve for his sprained shoulder injury. leaving open the possibility that the 41-year-old quarterback

could return this year, no word whether he will be available, though, for monday night's game. some had speculated his career might be over, but he may try to come back here at the end of the season. wild moment at a high school basketball game in florida monday night between desoto county and port charlotte. after a hard foul here, little pushing and shoving between players, the referee steps in, ejects this kid, and he pushes the ref. then he goes after the ref. body slams the official. the coaches rush in. police come in to restrain him, taking him off the court. the game ended in a for fit because the officials refused to stay and referee the rest of the game. the player may face expulsion as a result of the incident. coming up in the top of the hour on "morning joe" a horrifying scene inside a school board meeting as a disgruntled man walks in, spray paints the wall and pulls out a gun. we'll tell you what set him off and show you how this ended.

when we come back here, we will huddle around the water cooler for lighter fare as we try to explain this. you ride around with your dog in the front seat. this guy cruises around with his 1600 pound bison riding shotgun. "way too early" coming right back. hey, smart, we could stay here for the conference. i'm a member of this hotel's loyalty program. well, how far away is it? okay, we take a train to a dude ranch, then we canoe to the conference. or we could book with hotels.com and stay closer. [ male announcer ] accumulate 10 nights and get a night free. welcomerewards from hotels.com.

president obama's going to be trying to mend some fences with the business community today as 20 top ceos head it to the white house to talk jobs. the meeting comes as a new survey points to a more positive outlook among those who occupy the corner office. you want to sound smart tell your friends that optimism among the nation's leading ceos is at its highest level in four years according to business round table whose respondents expect to spend and it to hire more in the next six months thanks to an improving economy. among the round table's members of the ceos of pepsi, amexand boeing, all scheduled to be at the white house today. let's huddle around the water cooler to check in on rahm emanuel's run for mayor in chicago. a new poll, "chicago tribune" has rahm leading at this moment. the election is in february. he has 32% just ahead of undecided at 30%. but he is getting a challenge to his residency. some people saying he shouldn't be allowed to run because while he went to work in the white

house, he effectively gave up his residency in chicago. laws there say you have to live there for a full year. he says he kept his house, still owned the house. the challengers say yeah, but you rented it out, didn't live here. a weird, strange, surreal basement hearing where people were shouting and heckling rahm emanuel. one of the attorneys for the challengers, looking at pictures inside emanuel's house to decide whether or not he lives there. >> mr. emanuel, i want to show you a petitioner's exhibit 2, document 6, and this is the -- the listing from the multiple listing for the rental of the property. that's your home, correct? >> correct. >> and that is -- >> in the left corner is the back of the house and the main shot is the front of the house. >> of course that room is the kitchen? >> yes, very good, yes.

usa history for 200. >> rahm can barely contame himself. yes, that is a kitchen, well done, sir. we'll see how that turns out. he has a lead 32% in the polls there. one more for you, this is strange, we showed you the horse and car in kansas a few weeks ago. how about a bison, 1600 pound bison, as a matter of fact, riding around with its owner in a tricked out convertible outside edmonton, canada. about 30 kilometers. i don't get using the metric system. he blew out the seats so his buddy can ride shotgun. he has a little pale there so he can eat. they have different traffic laws in the edmonton area than here. people say of this man, they are the best of buddies and he is a buffalo whisperer. took out front and back seats, roof, windows and windshield and he cruises with his bison. still ahead on "way too

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